Govt allots Rp 15b to develop sports
Govt allots Rp 15b to develop sports
JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian government, for the first time,
is to provide Rp 15 billion (US$6,250,000) to develop sport in
the country's 27 provinces, State Minister for Youth Affairs and
Sports Hayono Isman, said yesterday.
Hayono, who attended the annual state budget speech delivered
by President Soeharto at the House of Representatives, said that
the budget is a pilot project. It will be doubled if it succeeds
but could be stopped if it fails.
The sports development special fund is a part of the Rp
4,676.9 trillion budget for education, national culture,
religion, youth and sports.
The budget is aimed at providing sports facilities for all
provincial sports tournaments.
"If a province does not stage a championship after receiving
the money, the government will withdraw the money," Hayono said.
A coordinating meeting with sports organizations will be
staged soon to discuss the optimal use of the fund for developing
sports in the provinces.
Hayono expects that after receiving the funding, sports
organizations will not face the same problems of financing the
national training center, especially in preparing athletes for
international competitions.
He also said that his office is to emphasize developing four
main sports: track and field, swimming, gymnastics and badminton.
"Each province must develop the four sports. There are two
sports - boxing and rowing - which are also important but cannot
be developed in all areas," he said.
The fund will not be divided equally between all provinces.
"There are two priorities in dividing the budget. The first
one is for provinces with low annual budgets, lower than
provinces on Java island, and the second is to develop sports
which feature in the National Games, the SEA Games and the
Olympics in addition to the four main sports," he said.
Antara reported the athletes development program will use 60
percent of the fund, providing facilities will take 30 percent
and the final 10 percent is for organizational needs.
Hayono said that if Indonesia wants to reach the top six in
Asia, it has to use the fund efficiently. (yan)